Arnall Community Funds
The Arnall Community Funds are administered through Oklahoma City Community Foundation (OCCF) and provide grants to nonprofit organizations throughout the state of Oklahoma that are working to improve outcomes for individuals, children and families involved with animal welfare and in the child welfare and criminal justice systems. The OCCF staff will manage the grant administration process and all grantmaking decisions will be made by OCCF Trustees. Learn more about the process.
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Diversion Project OKCCourse for ChangeAugust 18, 2022Awarded: $94,583Course for Change is a mentorship and juvenile delinquency diversion approach to helping at-risk and justice-involved youth develop relationships and demonstrate responsibility and accountability by completing a long-distance running program. As part of the initiative, youth are paired with volunteer mentors and receive the support of a presiding judge responsible for the juvenile docket. To balance the program, community stakeholders are asked to identify additional youth who could benefit from the program. Research demonstrates that foster youth represent a good pool of participants, as they are disproportionately impacted by the juvenile legal system. The Course for Change initiative is modeled after the Washington County (OK) Run the Streets program. -
Freedom CityMathnasium Math Tutoring PilotAugust 18, 2022Awarded: $40,000The mission of Freedom City is to remove barriers and provide support for students and families to help them reach their potential. Freedom City was founded in 2019 to address an immediate need at F.D. Moon Middle School where 94% of the students failed the state reading and math exams, 27% of students were suspended every year, and many students had poor social and emotional skills. The Mathnasium curriculum is extremely valuable to students who are struggling with mathematics. The students that have been selected for this pilot program at F.D. Moon and Millwood Middle Schools have been identified as most at-risk of failing the state exams. The curriculum works especially well for students who struggle to connect with math and to understand how these figures on a page could possibly be relevant to the concrete realities of their own lives. Freedom City has observed this phenomenon especially in their students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who might have a more practical perspective on life than the average student.
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HeartLine211 Criminal Justice and Resource Coordination ProjectAugust 18, 2022Awarded: $$65,000HeartLine 2-1-1 Community Resource line is a free, phone, online and text service that provides Oklahoman's access to vital information simply by dialing 2-1-1, texting 898-211, using the 2-1-1 Chat feature on HeartLine’s website, or searching the online database. Through a comprehensive resource database of more than 8,000 available health and human service organizations and programs, HeartLine 2-1-1 answers calls from Oklahomans in need. The Criminal Justice Resource Coordinator provides direct service to Diversion Hub clients, attends Drug Court and Mental Health Court, and serves as a troubleshooter for judges, public defenders, and case managers.
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Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare AssociationOperationsAugust 18, 2022Awarded: $212,000The mission of the Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Association (OICWA) is to promote the well-being of American Indian children, their families, and their tribes. As a voice for the Indian Child Welfare programs in Oklahoma, OICWA strives to protect the most vital resource of Indian tribes in Oklahoma - their children - through advocacy, training, and education. OICWA has served a vital role in efforts to improve policy, programs, and services and has been instrumental in identifying available resources and tools to enhance current and future planning efforts for compliance and sustainable practice changes.
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Peaceful Family OklahomaChild Welfare ExpansionAugust 11, 2022Awarded: $68,000Peaceful Family Solutions offers an evidence-based, SAMHSA-created curriculum for children ages 7-12 who have been impacted by a parent’s substance use disorder. The program improves children’s sense of hope, safety behaviors, communication, and helps them understand that their parents’ addiction is not their fault. The organization aims to reach more children by expanding their offerings and focusing on engaging with child welfare partners. Program expansion will include an early childhood program to serve 3-6-year-olds and a teen program.
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Marland's PlaceExpanding Foster ProgramsMay 12, 2022Awarded: $64,554Located on 100 acres donated in 1928 by E.W. Marland for the purpose of serving children, Marland’s Place transitioned in 2018 from a residential care provider to Kay County’s only locally operated foster placement agency. They support all aspects of the fostering process, from basic information to 24/7 on-call support. Their large campus, which includes a playground, gym, and dining hall, has allowed the agency to take a unique approach to recruiting and supporting foster families. In addition to partnering with residents who foster from their own homes, they converted existing campus buildings into residences where foster families live rent-free and within a supportive community. This project seeks to increase the number of Marland’s Place foster families to 25 in order to increase the total number of children served and decrease the number of children who are placed in foster homes outside of their county.
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Western Plains Youth & Family ServicesInfant and Early Childhood Mental Health ConsultationMay 12, 2022Awarded: $125,000Western Plains Youth & Family Services (WPYFS) provides quality community-based education, preventative services, counseling, shelter, and 24-hour mobile crisis services in Northwest Oklahoma to individuals in need. WPYFS will expand services to support infants, young children, and providers through Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) in childcare, Early Head Start (EHS)/Head Start and the public school early education center in Woodward. IECMHC is an evidence-based approach that pairs a mental health clinician with those who work with young children and their families, such as childcare providers and EHS/Head Start teachers. IECMH is a problem-solving and capacity-building intervention implemented within a collaborative relationship between a professional consultant with mental health expertise and one or more individuals with other areas of expertise—primarily childcare, child development and families—or individuals with childcare responsibilities.
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Safe CenterChild Advocacy Center ExpansionFebruary 17, 2022Awarded: $102,500Safe Center provides services to residents and visitors to Stephens and Jefferson Counties in Southwest Oklahoma who are victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. In addition to a crisis line that is staffed by a trained advocate 24/7, they offer crisis intervention services including safety planning, 1:1 advocacy, and referrals to other services. The Child Advocacy Center meets a need in the community for a child-friendly, safe, and neutral location in which law enforcement and Child Protective Service investigators may observe forensic interviews with children who are alleged victims of crimes. At the center the child and non-offending family members receive support, crisis intervention, and resources.
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111ProjectSW Oklahoma CarePortal ExpansionFebruary 17, 2022Awarded: $120,000With a shared mission of seeing children have safe and loving families, 111Project along with OKDHS and community partners are working together to build a state network of care via 111Project’s Oklahoma CarePortal. CarePortal can be activated in a community when there is a strong enough network of church and community resource providers signed up and trained to support requests made by agency partners like OKDHS. At the request of OKDHS, and with a desire to serve the entire state, 111Project is expanding efforts in southwest Oklahoma with eventual plans for statewide expansion.
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Circle of CareParent to ParentFebruary 17, 2022Awarded: $138,040Circle of Care provides community-based foster care services in Woodward, Ardmore, Enid, OKC, Tulsa, McAlester, and Tahlequah and is the largest private provider of foster care services in Oklahoma. Parent to Parent pairs “Parent Partners” with parents whose children have been removed from the home. It also pairs Parent Partners with parents who can only reside with their children under special conditions set by the courts. Parent Partners are parents formerly involved in the child welfare system who have achieved reunification with their children and are selected based on interpersonal skills, successes, and proven ability to overcome obstacles.
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PivotTransitional Living Program for the Tiny Home CommunityNovember 18, 2021Awarded: $526,031The Tiny Home Community at Pivot is the first of its kind for youth living independently or aging out of foster care in Oklahoma. Tiny homes allow for a sense of community and connection. Desperately needed wrap-around services are easily accessible on campus to ensure these youth learn the necessary life skills to be a good renter and neighbor. Pivot has 49 years of experience with youth living in transition. Basic needs and housing are among its five domains of focus. The tiny home community model is ideal for those who have experienced significant trauma and have wrap-around services needed to be successful and have an affordable place to live and grow. Located on Pivot's 12.5-acre campus, the Tiny Home Community will have 26 tiny homes available by the end of 2021. The project is part of Pivot's transitional living program.
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It’s My Community InitiativeSafe Families OklahomaNovember 18, 2021Awarded: $61,000Safe Families Oklahoma (SFO) is a program of It’s My Community Initiative (IMCI), which exists to strengthen vulnerable families in Oklahoma. Safe Families is a locally supported, volunteer movement fueled by compassion to keep children safe and families intact. The hallmark of Safe Families is providing a “host family” to temporarily open their home to a child in a voluntary arrangement while the parent works toward goals to stabilize their family and bring their child back into their home. Through a Circle of Support, the host families and biological families are surrounded by volunteers who may assist with practical needs, respite, home visits, transportation, resources and encouragement.The past five years have shown that 90% of the children hosted are successfully diverted from foster care and able to return to their families. It is critical that both those who need help and those who are helping are located in similar geographic proximity, so those receiving help are helped by "neighbors" rather than strangers across town. This approach allows the opportunity for stability in community and school for the children and the opportunity for relationship and support to continue beyond the initial hosting. SFO has mapped the demographics of its current host families and identified areas that are under-represented, including Downtown/NE OKC. This project will support an expansion into these communities.
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ThriveProject Equip – Training and Technical Assistance Program PilotNovember 18, 2021Awarded: $125,000Thrive’s mission is to build a movement to improve sexual health outcomes for youth with the vision to create a culture in which opportunities for youth to pursue education, careers and well-being are not limited by teen pregnancy. Oklahoma’s teen birth rate is among the top five highest in the nation, which means that it has one of the highest teen birth rates in the developed world. Oklahoma County consistently has the highest number of teen births in the state. Data shows significant disparities in local teen birth rates by geography and other demographic factors – the issue disproportionately impacts already vulnerable populations, including youth involved in the child welfare system.Thrive will conduct a one-year pilot training and capacity building program, Project Equip, to provide training, education, and resources to youth-serving professionals, parents, and other caregivers within the child welfare system. This program will build their capacity to have medically accurate and supportive conversations with youth about sexual health, including how to access sexual health care services, especially birth control (including LARC). Offerings will also support best practice engagement like trauma-responsive care, adolescent brain development, equity, 2SLGBTQ+ inclusivity, and other needs identified as the program develops. At the end of the pilot, Thrive will have a set of trainings that it will continue to sustain, as long as there is a need or demand, for caregivers in the child welfare system.
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The Education and Employment MinistryDiversion Hub Employment NavigatorAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $58,000TEEM brings its established employment services directly to participants at the Diversion Hub through an embedded Employment Navigator who provides individualized support to those who have been impacted by the justice system as they seek employment. The Employment Navigator is responsible for maintaining and overseeing a work readiness and vocational guidance service in order to assist both TEEM and Diversion Hub participants as they identify, pursue, and maintain their career.
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Foster Care and Adoption Association of OklahomaFoster Parent Peer Mentoring ProgramAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $150,000Foster Care and Adoption Association of Oklahoma (FCAO) recognizes the value of experienced, hopeful foster families who possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities to teach new foster parents how to navigate the intricacies of the foster care system. FCAO teaches families how to manage the long list of expectations, including appropriately advocating for their foster children, navigating the court process, creating healthy relationships with biological families, and managing services. The Foster Parent Peer Mentoring Program will pair a newly approved (licensed) a DHS foster parent with with a trained FCAO mentor upon first placement. For six to nine months, the mentor will meet in-person monthly with the mentee and communicate via phone and email weekly. Mentors will provide ongoing support, education, and encouragement to mentees.
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Citizens for Children and FamiliesMockingbird Family Model ImplementationAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $130,572Mockingbird Family Model is an innovative, evidence-based foster care delivery model that creates an extended family network to support, develop, and retain quality foster families so they can meet the challenging and complex needs of youth experiencing foster care. The model utilizes a “hub home” which supports a cluster of six to ten satellite foster homes – together this forms a “constellation”. The constellation structure forms a micro-community in which foster families can access peer mentoring and 24/7 respite care. Anticipated outcomes include increased placement stability and improved foster family retention.
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University of Oklahoma FoundationOklahoma Parent and Child Assistance ProgramAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $1,500,000The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a public research university committed to applying research for the benefit of Oklahomans and the nation. The Oklahoma Parent Child Assistance Program (PCAP) will be a joint program of OU and the University of Washington (UW), one of the premier research universities in the world. UW PCAP is housed in the Addictions, Drug & Alcohol Institute, a multidisciplinary research center at UW. The OU Department of Sociology will bring the program to Oklahoma.The Department of Sociology has an academic track in criminology, families, quantitative methods, and inequality. It leads the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, a transformative education experience for both students and incarcerated women. Other OU partners include the Department of Political Science and Better Chance Clinic and the Center for Child Abuse and Neglect at OU’s Heath Science Center. This evidence-informed model pairs pregnant and parenting mothers with substance use disorders with extensively trained case managers over a three-year period. The program has shown strong outcomes in Washington over the last two decades, including reduced subsequent substance-exposed births, increased rates of treatment and recovery, and increased rates of children remaining in the custody of their parents.
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Angels Foster Family NetworkPeople and Love Succeed LaunchAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $99,833People and Love Succeed (PALS) is a new nonprofit agency in Weatherford that is serving as a subcontracting foster agency with Angels Foster Family Network, located in Oklahoma City. PALS will recruit and support foster families in Custer County, and its contiguous counties, and will ensure that Trust-Based Relational Intervention is a core component of programming and support. Through guidance and support from Angels, PALS aims to recruit 10 foster families in its first year of operations.
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Sunbeam Family ServicesCultivating Strong Families and Futures in NE OKCAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $400,000Established in 1907, Sunbeam is Oklahoma’s longest-serving social service agency. Sunbeam helps nearly 8,000 central Oklahoma children and families learn, grow, and thrive each year. Its traditional foster care agency provides temporary care and supportive services in a home environment for children. Sunbeam also prepares 704 babies and toddlers to enter kindergarten through full-day, year-round early care and education. Children and families in the program participate in research-based curriculum, family engagement activities, and health and wellness events. Sliding scale mental health services are also available through individual, family, group, and play therapy in the mental health program. Sunbeam acquired the Edwards Early Education Center (EEC) to serve as the NEOKC hub for Sunbeam programs, including mental health services, support for grandparents raising grandchildren, and foster care services. Each year, more than 550 individuals will be served through Edwards EEC.
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Northern Oklahoma Youth ServicesFamily Resource ProgramAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $83,333Northern Oklahoma Youth Services (NOYS) is a community-based youth service program that exists to strengthen families and decrease the occurrence of child abuse and neglect, family violence, teen pregnancy, substance abuse, juvenile delinquency and other negative behaviors and conditions that limit a youth’s potential to grow into a healthy, responsible self-sufficient adult.The Family Resource Program serves families with a wide variety of stressors, including teen parenting, child welfare system involvement, economic instability, substance abuse issues, medical challenges, grandparents raising grandkids, and military service. Services include in-home and center-based educational sessions. The session includes information on bonding and attachment, milestones and typical development, language skills, motor skills, social-emotional skills, cognitive skills, nutrition, positive discipline, and resources in their county (employment, housing, education, counseling, etc.). Families are encouraged to get proper prenatal and postnatal care, up-to-date immunizations, and to use the various resources available in Kay County. Families can enroll and receive services for anytime between pregnancy and kindergarten.
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Youth & Family Resource CenterCoalitions Committed to Kids InitiativeAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $228,887Youth & Family Resource Center (YFRC) is a community-based nonprofit that serves as an umbrella agency for multiple programs and initiatives, which are all aimed at providing specialized services to children and families at risk of child maltreatment and involvement with the juvenile justice system. YFRC provides 24-hour emergency shelter services for children across the state, as well as evidence-based prevention outpatient and outreach services, including the following: Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), Nurturing Parents Parent Education Program, Parent CPR Parent Education Program, Parent Assistance Program for Teen Parents, trauma-informed individual and family therapy, First Time Offenders for the prevention of youth delinquency, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Services for the advocacy of children in foster care, Supervised Family Visitation, and Partners In Caring Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Initiative.The Coalitions Committed to Kids Initiative is a joint project between the Pottawatomie Child Welfare Collaborative coalition, the Lincoln County Partnership for Child Well-Being coalition and YFRC. It is aimed at improving child well-being in Pottawatomie and Lincoln Counties through expanding and strengthening evidence-based prevention programs aimed at child maltreatment prevention and recidivism and creating an Early Childhood Council.
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Sisu Youth ServicesSAFE House Capital CampaignAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $300,000Sisu Youth provides shelter and care to homeless and at-risk youth in the Oklahoma City metro area through three main program components - emergency shelter, case management, and a drop-in resource center. Sisu Youth Services acquired property with the intent to renovate the existing building into a dedicated and custom-built hub for youth and young adults experiencing homelessness. Through an emergency overnight shelter and a drop-in resource center, Sisu staff and volunteers will provide shelter, care, case management, and coordinated services in partnership with local agencies embedded onsite. This expansion will double the current space, allowing them to add four additional permanent beds, more laundry and showers, a full kitchen, and a comprehensive resource hub that will remove the transportation barrier which currently makes it difficult for youth to access the services they need.
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Homeless AllianceAdministrative InfrastructureAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $505,000The Homeless Alliance (HA) serves individuals experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness in central Oklahoma. In its 17 years HA has grown into over 100 employees and a $6,000,000 budget, all with very little investment in internal infrastructure or development. With the creation and implementation of a Fund Development Director, Fund Development Administrator, accounting professional and human resource administrators, HA is poised to increase its service capacity and ensure long term sustainability of sheltering and outreach programs. Homeless Alliance expects to serve at least 9,000 individuals annually.
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Peaceful Family SolutionsChild Welfare ExpansionAugust 25, 2021Awarded: $75,000Peaceful Family Solutions offers an evidence-based, SAMHSA-created curriculum for children ages seven to 12 who have been impacted by a parent’s substance use disorder. The program shows improved sense of hope, safety behaviors, communication, and understanding that their parents’ addiction is not their fault. The organization is seeking to reach more children through an expansion of their offerings and a targeted focus on engaging with child welfare partners. Program expansion will include an early childhood program to serve three- to six-year-olds and a teen program.
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City CareHousing NavigatorMay 18, 2021Awarded: $61,000City Care inspires those willing to look social injustice and extreme poverty in the face and empowers them to do whatever it takes to create change. In partnership with the Oklahoma County Diversion Hub, the Housing Navigator works to provide housing services to individuals who are justice-involved. They create a culture of client-centered service while helping their clients develop the skills and capacity to care for their families. They are also responsible for collecting data, records, and documentation of services offered. The Housing Navigator works with local landlords and property managers to build relationships and understanding and to dispel fallacies about leasing to those that are justice-involved individuals. In addition, the Navigator serves as a support network for clients, offering help with security deposits, furnishings for the home, and utilities setup. This position is collaborative in nature, working closely with other service providers, including the Homeless Alliance, and adopts the “no wrong door” policy in approach, meaning that they make a point to help any individual that walks through the door, and if they cannot be served by City Care, referrals to other service providers and resources will be made.
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HeartLineCriminal Justice and Resource CoordinatorMay 18, 2021Awarded: $61,000HeartLine 2-1-1 Community Resource line is a free, phone, online and text service that provides Oklahoman's access to vital information simply by dialing 2-1-1, texting 898-211, using the 2-1-1 Chat feature on HeartLine’s website or searching the online database. Through a comprehensive resource database of more than 8,000 available health and human service organizations and programs, HeartLine 2-1-1 answers calls from Oklahomans in need. The Criminal Justice Resource Coordinator provides direct service to Diversion Hub clients, attends Drug Court and Mental Health courts, and serves as a troubleshooter for judges, public defenders, and case managers.
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Oklahoma Humane SocietyKey Resource Animal Center - PoteauMay 14, 2021Awarded: $1,454,100The Oklahoma Humane Society (OK Humane) exists to enrich the communities it serves by promoting the well-being of animals with a primary focus to eliminate the needless euthanasia of healthy, adoptable animals in Oklahoma. Oklahoma continues to be a high-kill state for animals, but progress is measurable and high-functioning programs are mitigating the crisis. Even with this success, rural areas continue to struggle and are not receiving supportive resources and veterinary care. Imagine a top tier multi-dimensional animal facility in Poteau, Oklahoma. OK Humane is employing an innovative strategy that will aim to significantly mitigate the pet overpopulation crisis in Poteau, Oklahoma and surrounding areas. By leveraging the capacity for care that currently exists within the community, and creating a self-sustaining framework including veterinary care, adoptions, transport and humane education, OK Humane Poteau Campus will provide animal care for Poteau and the surrounding areas in perpetuity.OK Humane will work to increase the care of companion animals, increase area shelter effectiveness, decrease pet overpopulation, add low-cost spay & neuter and wellness twice weekly, transport animals out of state and reduce shelter intake in the target areas. Partnering with the OK Humane Vinita campus for transport, the goal is to create safe and healthy communities that allow for improved quality of life for rural companion animals. The animal welfare movement has reached a turning point in most areas of the United States. Oklahoma is reaching a crossroads, and trends are indicating that transport will cease being a needed activity in Oklahoma and cease being an income stream in the coming years. Building for the future and creating a sustainable network of facilities is key for the long term.
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NorthCareSafeCare ExpansionMay 13, 2021Awarded: $99,134SafeCare is an in-home, skills-based parenting program with demonstrated support for child maltreatment prevention, along with positive parent behavior change across a series of studies. This structured, behavioral skills training program focuses on teaching, modeling, and practicing objective parenting skills to the point of mastery. Parent-child bonding, child health, and home safety are the core modules of SafeCare’s National program.
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RestoreOKCPolk Community Resource CampusMay 13, 2021Awarded: $1,000,000RestoreOKC exists to bridge relationships of reconciliation for restorative justice by serving the physical, social, emotional, educational and economic needs of itsneighbors in Northeast Oklahoma City. The mission of the Community Resource Campus at the former Polk Elementary is to support Northeast Oklahoma City residents through increased access and collaboration from nonprofits whose missions improve the quality of life for all. Resource centers are community-based, flexible, typically family-focused, and culturally sensitive hubs of support and resources that provide programs and targeted services based on the needs and interests of families in that community. Broadly, family resource centers support the development of strong communities by adding layers of support and services. This grant will support renovations of the campus’ South Building, which will serve as the location for the Boys and Girls Club Northeast Oklahoma City site for the next few years while plans are underway for the construction of its new permanent location on the Polk campus.
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Marland's PlaceExpanding Foster ProgramsMay 13, 2021Awarded: $83,646Located on 100 acres donated in 1928 by E.W. Marland for the purpose of serving children, Marland’s Place transitioned in 2018 from a residential care provider to Kay County’s only locally operated foster placement agency. They support all aspects of the fostering process, from basic information to 24/7 on-call support. Their large campus, which includes a playground, gym, and dining hall, has allowed the agency to take a unique approach to recruiting and supporting foster families. In addition to partnering with residents who foster from their own homes, they converted existing campus buildings into residences where foster families live rent-free and within a supportive community. This project seeks to increase the number of Marland’s Place foster families to 25 in order to increase the total number of children served and decrease the number of children who are placed in foster homes outside of their county.
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Western Plains Youth & Family ServicesInfant and Early Childhood Mental Health ConsultationMay 13, 2021Awarded: $125,000Western Plains Youth & Family Services (WPYFS) provides quality community-based, education, preventative, counseling, shelter and 24-hour mobile crisis services in Northwest Oklahoma to individuals in need. WPYFS will expand services to support infants, young children, and providers through the provision of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) in childcare, Early Head Start (EHS)/Head Start and the public-school early education center in Woodward. IECMHC is an evidence-based approach which pairs a mental health clinician with those who work with young children and their families, such as childcare providers and EHS/Head Start teachers. IECMH is a problem-solving and capacity-building intervention implemented within a collaborative relationship between a professional consultant with mental health expertise and one or more individuals with other areas of expertise—primarily childcare, child development and families—or individuals with childcare responsibilities.